The present invention relates generally to the field of mobiles, such as first developed by Alexander Calder, and in particular to a new and useful solar-powered, motivated mobile for providing an entertaining display to amuse viewers.
The artist Alexander Calder is perhaps best known as the inventor of displays of beams and depending objects, balanced with each other and connected to move freely in air currents, commonly called mobiles. The mobiles created by Calder generally comprise a main horizontal beam suspended from a ceiling or other elevated support, which main beam in turn supports several depending horizontal beams and connected ornamental objects in a balanced arrangement. The point of connection between beams, length of the beams and the position and weight of the individual objects forming the mobile are all factors that can be used to balance the mobile. Most Calder mobiles utilize wire strands to connect the beams and objects.
Calder and others who have built mobiles design their mobiles to move in response to air currents surrounding the mobiles, or sometimes, pulling and pushing of the mobile elements by children. That is, the mobiles are not self-motivating, and rely on external forces acting on the mobile elements to cause movement.
Mobiles are a popular ornamental entertainment device, as the pattern of movement by the elements making up the mobile is unlikely to repeat exactly within a noticeable period. Similar to fish tanks, people enjoy looking at mobiles for relaxation or amusement.
Mobiles are often provided near babies cribs because they usually incorporate elements with a variety of different shapes and colors. In combination with the ability to move inherent in mobiles, these features make them useful tools for amusing and stimulating the minds of babies. Traditional Calder mobiles may be hung near a crib, out of reach of the baby, so that it is only seen and cannot be touched. In such cases, the mobile is not likely to move when the air in the room is still.
A motionless mobile is clearly less entertaining than a moving mobile. But, it may not be possible or advisable to create a draft in the room of a baby or child. Thus, mobiles have been developed with motors to cause the mobile elements to move. These mobiles generally have a different structure from traditional Calder mobiles resulting from the difficulty of connecting a motor to each traditional mobile element unless they are centrally attached. Thus, motorized mobiles usually have one or more beams supporting an ornamental object at one end and connected at their other end to a single, center axle which is driven by a motor.
Many patents disclose mobiles of this type. U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,455, for example, teaches a mobile having a vertically oriented central motor and axle with several horizontally extending arms connected between the axle and a decorative shape supported at the far end. The mobile is designed to be mounted on a crib over the head of an infant, so that the decorative shapes are rotated around the axle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,535 discloses a motorized mobile with a central motor and axle and several detachable elements. When some mobile elements are detached, the remaining elements can be balanced by sliding balancing weights along the support arms to offset the weight of the missing element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,360 to Fearon et al. teaches a motorized mobile having a CD player as part of the mobile. The mobile elements are turned in synchronization to the music played.
As can be understood, these types of mobiles are less traditional in that the several beams are not connected to each other, but to a center axle. These mobiles do not balance or move in alternating patterns the same way as a traditional Calder mobile.
Since the time Calder invented the mobile, he and others have balanced a variety of stationary objects to create ornamental designs. A particularly interesting mobile of traditional construction having interconnected elements that each include a light source is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,775. The elements are connected to each other to balance the weight of the light sources mounted in each. The light sources are oriented facing upwardly, so that as the mobile elements rotate relative to each other, different light patterns are produced by the light sources. A conductive wire carries power to each light source. The wire runs through connecting posts between mobile elements and within the mobile elements. In one embodiment, disc-shaped fins for catching air are connected to each element to cause the mobile elements to spin. The fins may be connected to the portion of the element carrying the light source by a hollow tube.
Toys having a center support for a beam, and a simulative flying machine at one end of the beam are also known. Many of these toys are intended to simulate airplanes, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,827,775. The patent teaches a toy airplane mounted on a rotating, counter-balanced arm connected to a support post. The airplane has a propeller driven by a wound spring. When the propeller and spring are released, the airplane begins to rotate the arm about the support post, and the airplane rises into the air as the counter-balance weight on the arm becomes equal to the weight of the moving airplane. The counter-balance weight can be a simulative dirigible or airplane.
It should be noted that in toys of this type, unless the simulative flying machine is active, the supporting arm is not balanced about the center support post. Rather, the end of the arm with the simulative object is permitted to fall to the ground, much like a see-saw with only one rider.
But, mobiles having a self-contained power source and individually motivated beams are not known. Traditional Calder mobiles and other with balanced beams supporting objects especially are not known to have any self-motivating capability.